AAVIK THE BEST KEPT Sereat IN DIGITAL

I know Aavik doesn't get a lot of love on these forums. IMO, it is very unfortunate.

A few months ago, I bought  Aavik U-280 (integrated + DAC) and the streamer (S-280). After owning several integrated amps from the likes of Luxman, Audio Research, VTL, etc., I can safely say that the Aavik integrated and their DAC is in a league of its own. I was a die hard tube amplification fan boy, but Aavik is the only SS amp that does not make me yearn for the tube sound. Their tesla coil-based technology is really cool and the improvement in SQ is very evident.

The streamer is also one of the best I've owned. It is very musical and analog-sounding. The only down side is that it doesn't do DSD, but what it does do, it's done so well that I don't miss DSD playback one bit.

I worked with Tyler over at Next Level Hifi. This was by far the best dealer experience I've had in my audiophile journey so far. He let me audition the U-280 at no cost to me and never put any pressure on me to decide. Whatever Aavik is doing with their new line of integrated amps, they must be doing something good. You get the usual tube sound attributes (lush, holographic, density, soundstage) with the clarity, bass slam, and dynamics of a very good SS amp. Aavik has really found the perfect blend of these qualities.

if you post a sales pitch, at least you could have run a spellcheck. 

I am sure it's a great product though.

btw I read the article on pta when it came out, so I am not sure it's a secret :)

aavik is one of the very few audio companies to make every device in the chain 

Love the concept, I know you are a dealer but do you own one too?

Not sure why PTA had an analog guy review a complete digital front end…hard to contextualize it given the writer’s comparative inexperience in digital. What else has he heard etc

It’s like when Stereophile had their editor review the mega buck CH Precision stack. Best digital he’s ever heard. Cool story, but his last digital review was of like a Mytek or PS Audio type gear.

Not doubting this gear, just doubting the value of the review industry 
 

$12000 for a streamer? No thanks. I'll spend that money on concerts and media.

Just to be clear, Dave, the S-280 is a streamer only, no DAC? The D-280 is a DAC only and the U-280 is an integrated amp with a DAC, correct?

@tomcy6 The S-280 does have a built-in DAC which is actually quite good. I will put it up against any DAC in the ~$2-3K range. However, the DAC in the U-280 is substantially better. I preferred it, by a substantial margin, over Denafrips Terminator II and T+A 200. The DAC in U-280 easily competes with anything up to $5-7K based on my experience. Besides the U-280 (which is what I have), they also have an I-280 which is basically the same as the U-280 sans the DAC.

I have owned Luxman 590AXII, Naim Supernait 3, Audio Research GSi75, VAC 160i, VTL I-85, and few more integrated amps. I recently took my Aavik to a friend’s house who has a Pass Labs INT-250. We compared the Aavik and Pass in his system. He was quite shocked to hear how much the SQ resembled -- same level of heft, warmth, imaging, etc. The Pass had a little more bloom (for SS standards) and the Aavik had more transparency and much lower noise floor. Of course, the Aavik is much much lighter in weight and doesn’t put out as much heat.

I know it is class D and does not have the same brand name recognition in these forums, but at least for me, it is one of the best integrated amps I have owned.

Thanks @arafiq  for the very helpful information.  That's not always easy to get.

How would you rate the Aavik D-280? Does it pull it’s weight at $10k?

@phastm3 IMO, it's better than the Denafrips Terminator Plus (which I had briefly and traded in) and the Terminator 2 (which I had for a long time). Similar sound signature but you get a lot more of everything -- bigger, wider, deeper soundstage, more air around instruments, and just a bigger, more impact presentation. I briefly auditioned (less than 10 days) the T+A DAC 200 and preferred the Aavik DAC but only by a very slight margin.

IMO, it is a solid dac but only if you get a 20% (or more) discount off of retail. However, the real improvement comes when used with other Aavik equipment. This is where it makes a huge impact. The noise reduction technology that Aavik has been employing in their new line of amps, dacs, and streamers is really something. 

phastm the d280 pulls its weight agaist  anything at our near its price point

smooth musical a great dac low noise tight bass a huge soundstage and a great  feature set

Dave and Troy

audio intellect nj

aavik dealers

Best no.

Secret no.

"Best no.

Secret no."

You speak with such authority. Have you have actually owned the D-280 and compared it to others?

dbagstrick we are dealers soyes we own this gear and we sell alot of great brands naim bricastipsrasound krell electrocompaniet ynthesis unison research coda and many others 

so yes we own them and have compared their gear to many others 

Dave and Troy

Audio intellect  nj

aavik dealers 

Unless I'm mistaken, @dbagstrick 's post was a reply to an earlier post by jeffstrick, not audiotroy.

As an aside, I totally agree with dbagstrick's retort. I don't know why certain posters have the need to just blurt out something nonsensical when they know it very well that it's not adding any value to the conversation. It's like they have verbal diarrhea that has to find a way out. 

Yes @arafiq is correct.

@audiotroy  Please note what I quoted, another user and not you

Thanks